NDIDI

[Tielemans63]

He can be as good as Kante in my opinion 

[SheppyFox]

MOTM for me today. 

[StanSP]

2 hours ago, The Year Of The Fox said:

Still the PL leader in terms of most tackles made since joining.

 

Is there a case to say he’s better than Kante? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Made the comparison to Kante today as well to my dad.

 

He's pretty much nailing that 'win the ball back' role like Kante did for us a few seasons ago.

 

And what's more is that Ndidi's passing and calmness on the ball is beginning to show. Last few seasons he'd be a bit clumsy? Now he seems to fit perfectly in this tactical setup by Rodgers. Win the ball back, give the ball to a team-mate pretty much. Always seems to find himself in the right position to win the ball back to or at least hassle the opposition. Exactly what Kante would do.

[Wolfox]

14 minutes ago, murphy said:

I'm not so sure - Kante over Wilf that is.  

 

I don't know if it's a case of out of sight, out of mind with kante, but if you offered me a swap I'd say no i think.  Statistically Wilf is outperforming him in terms of tackles and interceptions and has for some time which also, by extension, means he is pretty good positioning wise and reading the game.  Add to that his aerial ability and winning personality and I reckon I'd keep Wilf, as good as Kante is.

Dunno Dave…. The way we play he has one job to destroy….   He’s now a lot more effective at recycling the ball and has improved his range of passing no end

 

Kante can drive and transition into attack far more effectively…. He’s more confident with the ball at his feet, so edges it for me…

 

Its testament to how far he’s come that he’s getting favourable comparisons….

[HighPeakFox]

I feel like the mistake at Chelsea and the way the squad and Rodgers looked after him afterwards has had a profoundly positive effect on Wilfred. I must have bored everyone senseless around me today with the amount of times I said something to the effect of 'brilliant Wilfred'.

 

Also, I got strange looks for clapping. There's nowt so odd as folk...

[ARTY_FOX]

He's brilliant. So effective at winning the ball back, he is every bit as good as kante at winning the ball. I wish he would drive forward sometimes but if I'm honest I don't care. Win it back and pop it off to someone you know can work their magic. Could play for pretty much anyone he wants really. 

[Corky]

He really has improved his passing range as well as the tackling which continues to astonish. If he can add goals to his game we've got a star.

[mancunianfox]

20 minutes ago, Corky said:

He really has improved his passing range as well as the tackling which continues to astonish. If he can add goals to his game we've got a star.

2 goals already this season would suggest he has. Hope he can add a few more from set pieces as he is a beast in the air as well. I keep forgetting he is still only 22 because he has nearly 100 appearances for us and 32 already at International level. He must be an absolute nightmare to play against.

[Guest MattP]

Showing a lot of improvement this season, hopefully it will continue.

 

Tielemans with him and Choudary providing serious competition has seriously helped.

[Corky]

4 minutes ago, mancunianfox said:

2 goals already this season would suggest he has. 

Hope so. If he can get 7-10 that would be a huge bonus.

[murphy]

12 hours ago, Wolfox said:

Dunno Dave…. The way we play he has one job to destroy….   He’s now a lot more effective at recycling the ball and has improved his range of passing no end

 

Kante can drive and transition into attack far more effectively…. He’s more confident with the ball at his feet, so edges it for me…

 

Its testament to how far he’s come that he’s getting favourable comparisons….

You're right, Kante was more dynamic and brilliant at driving forwards.  He also had the unique ability to teleport himself around the pitch and I liked his humility.

 

 I would say however that when we played with Ranieri's rope-a-dope system, when we won the ball back there was much more space to drive into than there is under Puel and Rodger's possession game.  Chilwell can drive us forward and Maguire used to ,but often have to turn and pass back because they run into traffic.  Kante had the luxury of acres of space on the counter.

 

 You say he has one job which is true but he is an excellent shield to the back four,  This is where Puel went wrong imo, playing Wilf and Mendy together (although he was short of options) and asking him to be more expansive.  The arrival of Rodgers and Youri allows him to get back to what he is good at and he has blossomed.  I still think that his arrival in Jan 2017 was one of the main factors that saved us from relegation.

 

I'm sure I'm in a minority, but I'd still take Wilf and his Inspector Gadget style telescopic legs.  They were like hungry hippos yesterday, gobbling up the ball and I just like the cut of his jib.

 

 

 

Edited 30 September 2019 by murphy

[Wolfox]

1 hour ago, murphy said:

I just like the cut of his jib.

 

 

 

And who’d contest that…? I love him too!

 

Was my MOTM yesterday…

 

We’ve had two of the highest of high calibre defensive midfielders on our books in the last few years - how lucky we are…

[Col city fan]

There’s no point making comparisons between Kante and Wilf.

Wilf is ours, Kante isn’t.

Just enjoy watching Ndidi, imo one of the best defensive minded midfielders in the country at present 

Rodgers has got him playing almost perfectly as a brilliant shield for the back four and as a support for the attacking midfielders

Great player and great management 

 

[Babylon]

The pressure he was put under by Puel to become the playmaker made a mess of him last season, granted I'm not sure Puel had much choice at the time and we clearly wanted another CM to take over that role. He's been immense this season and his passing has improved again because he's not under the pressure to force the issue as he was before. 

[Nick]

Destroy, Recycle, Repeat.

 

And that'll do Wilfred, that'll do.

[AKCJ]

Our midfield is genuinely brilliant. I think everyone in the league bar Man City would take your arm off if you offered them a swap.

 

We've got so many good options now.

[steveherbe]

Someone mentioned Mendy, had totally forgotten about him.

[Tom12345]

I have to say, compared to a year ago when I was calling for Puel to drop him, Ndidi has improved a lot. Rodgers has done some great work with him. Ndidi now does not try to run the midfield and make incisive passes like he was trying to do when Puel was in charge. He now sticks to his specialist role which is to recover possession, but does everything else as simple as he can. I suppose having Tielemans and Maddison (and Praet the last game) to support him more effectively helps, but he just seems to now know what he needs to do a lot more, what his positioning should be, rather than trying to run up and down the field trying to be a midfield maestro despite his insufficient level of ball control and passing skills.  Maybe in fairness Puel was on his way of getting Ndidi to his current level, we will never know, but certainly he looks very good now. In fact, even his tackling has improved - he has more precision and has been less reckless. He commits a lot less fouls now and if I recall correctly he only made one foul yesterday!

 

Hats off to him, from a former critic.

Edited 30 September 2019 by Tom12345

[HighPeakFox]

Fabulous player, and seemingly a fabulous bloke too. 

[turtmcfly]

5 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

I feel like the mistake at Chelsea and the way the squad and Rodgers looked after him afterwards has had a profoundly positive effect on Wilfred. I must have bored everyone senseless around me today with the amount of times I said something to the effect of 'brilliant Wilfred'.

 

Also, I got strange looks for clapping. There's nowt so odd as folk...

 

 

 

 

Edited 30 September 2019 by turtmcfly

[mancunianfox]

Does anyone less cheap than me mind copying and pasting todays article from the Telegraph about Wilf in here?

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/09/30/wilfred-ndidi-glue-keeps-brilliant-leicester-side-together/

[brucey]

12 minutes ago, mancunianfox said:

Does anyone less cheap than me mind copying and pasting todays article from the Telegraph about Wilf in here?

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/09/30/wilfred-ndidi-glue-keeps-brilliant-leicester-side-together/

Here. Although you can get two free articles a week for registering, unlike the Athletic 

 

Wilfred Ndidi is the glue that keeps this brilliant Leicester side together

 Alistair Tweedale 

30 SEPTEMBER 2019 • 12:17PM

Leicester's title triumph of 2015/16 will simply never be beaten. A 5,000/1 shot winning the Premier League was, is and will likely remain the greatest footballing upset anyone alive to see it will witness.

But as Manchester United's recent plight has shown, ever-so-slightly less difficult than winning the title is recovery after falling away at the top. Inventing the wheel is one thing. Reinventing it is another entirely. Brendan Rodgers looks like he might just have managed to do so with his new-look Leicester City.

They are no better than the title-winners of 2015/16, and they won't repeat those miracles - Liverpool and Manchester City are just too consistent for that to happen - but they are just as exciting and after Sunday's 5-0 thrashing of Newcastle Leicester look like they could make good on the many pre-season predictions that this could be the team be the side to break the 'big six' stronghold at the top of the Premier League.

This is a completely distinct team in playing style: possession is their close friend and there are fewer of the lightning-quick counter-attacks that so defined their title-winning campaign. Jamie Vardy remains the lung-busting channel-running goal threat but otherwise Rodgers has created a new team.

Much has been made of the Leicester's success in the transfer market with players like James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Ricardo Pereira - all of whom wouldn't look out of place at a 'big six' side - but the man at the base of midfield (much like in the title-winning side) is one of their most important players.

 

Much like N'Golo Kante, Wilfred Ndidi is the ball-winner in a hugely impressive Leicester side. After making a colossal nine tackles and five interceptions in Sunday's win, Ndidi now leads the Premier League in both columns for the season, with 33 tackles and 23 interceptions. Kante topped both individual charts when Leicester won the title. That is largely where the similarities end, though.

Ndidi's goal capped off Leicester's latest win, but it was not a moment that reflected his performance, style of play or strengths. It was the 92nd minute and it was the first and only time Ndidi had touched the ball in the Newcastle box, as the below touchmap shows. It was also only the third time he had ventured into the final third.

 

While Kante - who played in a midfield two - would run himself into the ground, winning the ball all over the pitch and relieving pressure on the defence by carrying the ball up the field, Ndidi retains his position in front of the back four and behind two other central midfielders, distributing play quickly and efficiently to get attacking moves started once he has won the ball.

He had 84 touches  on Sunday and completed 91.8 per cent of his passes. As the below graphic shows, the two most-advanced and central positions in which Ndidi attempted passes resulted in losses of possession (red lines = unsuccessful passes; green = successful passes). That is not where he is at his best.

 

He is the kind of selfless player that every great team needs. Leicester's flying full-backs have rightly received a great deal of praise for their tireless, attacking running, but they are helped hugely by Ndidi's ball-winning and lateral distribution to get play out wide as quickly as possible.

It is also no coincidence that Harry Maguire's replacement Caglar Soyuncu has settled into the side so quickly. When you have a player like Ndidi so committed to protecting the defence, the centre-backs immediately have a better chance of succeeding. Just look at how exposed Maguire and Victor Lindelof have been at United with no natural holding midfielder in front of them.

Leicester suffocate opponents when they try to play out from the back and it is usually Ndidi that sweeps up possession in central midfield. They were helped by Isaac Hayden's ludicrous challenge that earned him a red card on Sunday, but even when it was 11 vs 11 Newcastle just could not find a way out at the back.

This is already Ndidi's fourth season in England, so despite being just 22 years old he is already somehow an experienced member of this Leicester side. He is unflustered, unassuming and doesn't go in search of the limelight.

Unless Leicester are 4-0 up at home against 10 men and the game has entered second half stoppage time. Otherwise, he will stick to his job and everyone around him will feel the benefits.

[ARTY_FOX]

8 minutes ago, brucey said:

Here. Although you can get two free articles a week for registering, unlike the Athletic 

 

Wilfred Ndidi is the glue that keeps this brilliant Leicester side together

 Alistair Tweedale 

30 SEPTEMBER 2019 • 12:17PM

Leicester's title triumph of 2015/16 will simply never be beaten. A 5,000/1 shot winning the Premier League was, is and will likely remain the greatest footballing upset anyone alive to see it will witness.

But as Manchester United's recent plight has shown, ever-so-slightly less difficult than winning the title is recovery after falling away at the top. Inventing the wheel is one thing. Reinventing it is another entirely. Brendan Rodgers looks like he might just have managed to do so with his new-look Leicester City.

They are no better than the title-winners of 2015/16, and they won't repeat those miracles - Liverpool and Manchester City are just too consistent for that to happen - but they are just as exciting and after Sunday's 5-0 thrashing of Newcastle Leicester look like they could make good on the many pre-season predictions that this could be the team be the side to break the 'big six' stronghold at the top of the Premier League.

This is a completely distinct team in playing style: possession is their close friend and there are fewer of the lightning-quick counter-attacks that so defined their title-winning campaign. Jamie Vardy remains the lung-busting channel-running goal threat but otherwise Rodgers has created a new team.

Much has been made of the Leicester's success in the transfer market with players like James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Ricardo Pereira - all of whom wouldn't look out of place at a 'big six' side - but the man at the base of midfield (much like in the title-winning side) is one of their most important players.

 

Much like N'Golo Kante, Wilfred Ndidi is the ball-winner in a hugely impressive Leicester side. After making a colossal nine tackles and five interceptions in Sunday's win, Ndidi now leads the Premier League in both columns for the season, with 33 tackles and 23 interceptions. Kante topped both individual charts when Leicester won the title. That is largely where the similarities end, though.

Ndidi's goal capped off Leicester's latest win, but it was not a moment that reflected his performance, style of play or strengths. It was the 92nd minute and it was the first and only time Ndidi had touched the ball in the Newcastle box, as the below touchmap shows. It was also only the third time he had ventured into the final third.

 

While Kante - who played in a midfield two - would run himself into the ground, winning the ball all over the pitch and relieving pressure on the defence by carrying the ball up the field, Ndidi retains his position in front of the back four and behind two other central midfielders, distributing play quickly and efficiently to get attacking moves started once he has won the ball.

He had 84 touches  on Sunday and completed 91.8 per cent of his passes. As the below graphic shows, the two most-advanced and central positions in which Ndidi attempted passes resulted in losses of possession (red lines = unsuccessful passes; green = successful passes). That is not where he is at his best.

 

He is the kind of selfless player that every great team needs. Leicester's flying full-backs have rightly received a great deal of praise for their tireless, attacking running, but they are helped hugely by Ndidi's ball-winning and lateral distribution to get play out wide as quickly as possible.

It is also no coincidence that Harry Maguire's replacement Caglar Soyuncu has settled into the side so quickly. When you have a player like Ndidi so committed to protecting the defence, the centre-backs immediately have a better chance of succeeding. Just look at how exposed Maguire and Victor Lindelof have been at United with no natural holding midfielder in front of them.

Leicester suffocate opponents when they try to play out from the back and it is usually Ndidi that sweeps up possession in central midfield. They were helped by Isaac Hayden's ludicrous challenge that earned him a red card on Sunday, but even when it was 11 vs 11 Newcastle just could not find a way out at the back.

This is already Ndidi's fourth season in England, so despite being just 22 years old he is already somehow an experienced member of this Leicester side. He is unflustered, unassuming and doesn't go in search of the limelight.

Unless Leicester are 4-0 up at home against 10 men and the game has entered second half stoppage time. Otherwise, he will stick to his job and everyone around him will feel the benefits.

Nice read, thanks! 

 

 

But ffs the media are starting to realise 

[murphy]

4 hours ago, steveherbe said:

Someone mentioned Mendy, had totally forgotten about him.

I feel a bit sorry for him tbh.  Well down the pecking order here and rightly so, but good enough to be playing regularly somewhere and never let us down.

 

I hope he gets a move in January.

 

 

Edited 30 September 2019 by murphy

[Usafox1]

 

Wilf will be gone in January. There are too many big teams that could use a ball winner a defensive shield. Arsenal, Man U even city could use a DM like wilf. I think he goes for 50M